October 30, 2015
If you are using or planning to use Chromebook in your instruction, the tips below are definitely worth your attention. These are instructions to help you make the best of your Chromebook in terms of how to search for and find educational apps to use on it, how to customize its settings to suit your own teaching purposes, how to save files to Google Drive and edit and share images using Chromebook's built-in editor, how to add users and control who can use your Chromebook and several other tips that are integral to an effective integration of this device in your class.

1- Find apps for your Chromebook
Apps are web applications that allow you to do specific tasks on your Chromebook. Chrome Web Store is the place where you can look for and download Chromebook apps. Watch this video to learn more about how you can look for and install apps.

2- Add apps and extensions to your Chromebook
Once you have found the apps or extensions you want to use on your Chromebook, follow the instructions below to learn about how to install them:

Browse or search for what you'd like to add. The store contains both free and paid items.

Click Add to Chrome (if free) or Buy (if paid).

If you're adding an extension:

Review the types of data that the extension will be able to access.

Click Install.

3- Uninstall apps and extensions
Here is how you can easily uninstall apps and extensions from your Chromebook:

A- Remove apps

Click the launcher > All apps.

Right-click the app you want to remove.

Select Remove from Chrome.

B- Remove extensions

Open a new tab in Chrome.

Click the Chrome menu & More tools & Extensions.

Next to the extension you want to remove, click the trash can icon .

If your extension is a button on the browser toolbar, you can also right-click its icon and select Remove from Chrome.

To temporarily disable the extension, go to the Extensions page and uncheck the checkbox next to Enabled.

4- Save files to your Google Drive
Saving files to your Google Drive instead of Chromebook will enable you to access them anywhere you go and across different devices. Here is how to save files to Drive:

Sign into your Chromebook.

Click the status area, where your account picture appears.

Click Settings & Show advanced settings….

In the Downloads section, click the Change button. You’ll see a window where you can select the location to download your files.

Select Google Drive.

To save to an existing folder, double-click it.

To save to a new folder, click the New folder button.

5- Edit and share images
Chromebook has an integrated image editor that allows you to easily edit the images you have saved and share them with others. Here is how to open the image editor:

Click on the apps list icon and select Files to open the Files app.

Select the image you'd like to edit.

Click Open at the bottom of the screen.

To close the editor, just click x in the top-right corner of the screen.

Watch the video below to learn more about how to edit and share images and files

6- Customize your Chromebook’s privacy settings
There is a number of settings that are enabled by default in your Chromebook.’For example, Chrome can use a web service to automatically offer completions for search terms or website addresses you type in the address bar.’ Here how to turn off a privacy setting:

In the top-right corner of the browser window, click the Chrome menu icon .

Click Settings.

At the bottom of the page, click Show advanced settings.

Under Privacy, uncheck any privacy settings you no longer want. When you turn a privacy setting off, that information will not be sent to Google.

7- Share your Chromebook with others
Guest browsing feature allows you to share your Chromebook with others without them being able to access your account information. ‘Guests can visit websites and download files, but they can't install apps. Their browsing data won’t be saved, but some websites might still have records of their visit.’ To share your Chromebook, first change the settings so you can add other users:

Sign in to your Chromebook.

Click the status area, where your account picture appears.

Click Settings > Manage other users.

In the "Users" window that opens, check or uncheck the box for "Enable Guest browsing."

8- Save and view webpage bookmarks

Here is how you can save web pages and create bookmarks of things you like to view later.

On the right side of your address bar, click the star icon. It could look like this or .

You can also do one of the following:

Go to the Chrome menu > Bookmarks > Bookmark this page.

Go to the web address bar at the top of the page and find the lock or the page. Drag either one into the bookmarks bar.

Press Ctrl+D or ⌘+D.

9- Add people to your Chromebook
You can add up to 17 people to your Chromebook. Once added these people can use their Google accounts to sign in to your Chromebook and use Google services such as Gmail, Drive..etc. Here is how to add a person to your Chromebook:

On the sign-in screen, click Add person.

Enter the Google Account email address and password, then click Next.

If you don't have a Google Account to add, you can create one by clicking More options > Create new account.

10- Control who can use your Chromebook
If you are the owner, you can manage sign-in permissions on the Settings page to control who can use it. You can make the permissions as flexible as you'd like to allow anyone to use your Chromebook, or as detailed as you need to allow only certain people to use it. Follow these steps to manage sign-in permissions:

Sign in to the Chromebook with the account that has been designated as the owner.

Click the status area in the lower-right corner, where your account picture appears.

Select Settings and find the "People" section.

Click Manage other users.

You can adjust the following settings in the dialog that appears:

A-Allow people to sign in with any Google Account B- Restrict sign-in access C- Add or remove users D- Allow people to browse the web without signing in (guest browsing)

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Coming to you from the wonderful Nova Scotian city, Halifax (Canada), Educational Technology and Mobile Learning is an educational blog dedicated to curating, reviewing and sharing EdTech tools and mobile apps. The purpose is to help teachers and educators effectively integrate digital technologies into their day-to-day teaching, learning and professional development. For any questions regarding the blog website or the published content , please contact EdTech admin, editor and blog owner, Med Kharbach at: info@educatorstechnology.com.

Med Kharbach is a doctoral researcher and a former teacher with 10 years of classroom teaching experience. Med's research interests include: discourse analysis, language learning, linguistics, Internet linguistics, critical linguistics, new (emerging) literacies, critical pedagogy, and educational technology. Here is how to cite any of our blog posts in APA style :

Kharbach, M. (Post date). Title of the post [Blog post]. Retrieved from (URl of the post).